


like a willow bending with the storm

by blackkat



Series: IruGen Drabbles [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Iruka is bad at feelings, M/M, Pre-Shippuden, thankfully Genma can roll with that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 14:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20027152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: The village is so quiet, with Naruto gone.





	like a willow bending with the storm

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: Always by your side.

“Hey.”

It’s probably a sign of just how caught up in his own head Iruka is, but the voice on his left makes him practically startle out of his skin. Twitching hard, he jerks away, then spins, and—

Genma gives him a crooked smile, raising his hands like he needs to prove they're empty. “Just me, I promise,” he says wryly, and Iruka closes his eyes and splays a hand over his face, trying to get his heartbeat back down to normal.

“Don’t _do_ that,” he says crossly. “You're not supposed to be sneaking up on people from your own village!”

The words come out sharp, angry; he doesn’t mean them that way. Genma's always a quiet presence, never obnoxious, and he’s been a friendly face around the Administration Building since Iruka was first starting there as an aide. But Naruto is gone, just left on a training trip that will likely keep him away for _years_, and Iruka doesn’t know what to do with that knowledge. He’s all mixed up, feels like the inside of his head is all tangles and knots, and it’s hard to breathe with the village suddenly so empty.

Snapping at someone who doesn’t deserve it is a bad outlet, but Iruka can't think of another.

There's a pause as one of Genma's eyebrows rises faintly, and Iruka braces for him to get up and leave, maybe say something cutting in return. But, after a moment, Genma just tips his head, pulling the senbon from his mouth. “Sorry about that,” he says mildly. “I thought you heard me coming. Wasn’t trying to sneak.”

Iruka flushes, looking away. Guilt churns in his stomach, but he can't find the words to express it. Can't find _any_ words, and the silence stretches, builds. It feels like an avalanche that hasn’t quite been triggered yet, just waiting to fall and bury him.

The village is so quiet, with Naruto gone.

Then, sudden, a hand touches his. Iruka startles again, head jerking up, and finds Genma watching him with steady eyes, head faintly cocked. His hand rests firmly over Iruka’s, unmoving, and it’s warm and his fingers are callused, the weight of them easy.

“Hey,” he says again, softly. “The kid’ll be back.”

Iruka opens his mouth, ready to yell that he’s not _worried_, and—stops. Because there's a certain tip to one corner of Genma's mouth, something wry and regretful, and Iruka stares at it for a long, long moment before he finally lets his teeth click back together.

“Oh,” he says, and it feels—strange, coming to a realization like this. “You know him, too?”

Genma tilts a shoulder in a halfhearted shrug, and for the first time in the conversation Iruka registers the fact that Genma's not in uniform. He’s not even wearing his hitai-ate, brown hair falling free around his face, and there are bandages wrapped tight around both arms and what Iruka can see of his shoulder through the loose collar of his shirt. He fought, Iruka remembers belatedly. The Sound Four and their cursed seals managed to take out Genma and Raidō both before they moved on.

“I don’t, really,” Genma says, and his gaze flickers away, out over the treeline. Right towards the Hokage Mountain, the fourth face in the stone. “But I was on his ANBU guard a lot. And I saw his fight with Neji in the Exams. Kid hits hard and doesn’t let up.”

Iruka’s eyes burn, and he ducks his head. Twists his hand to catch Genma's fingers and grips, just to have something to hold on to when it feels like he’s on the edge of falling apart. “It’s _good_,” he says fiercely, and can't tell who he’s trying to convince. “It’s good, I want Naruto to have training. And—and Jiraiya is supposed to be one of the best, so it makes _sense_.”

“But,” Genma finishes for him, soft, “it’s a long time away, isn't it.”

Iruka swallows hard, gives a jerky nod. Looks away, stubbornly telling himself he’s not going to cry, and says almost accusingly, “I thought your specialty was assassination. Why were _you_ his guard?”

The vast majority of people would take offense at his tone; Genma just snorts, self-deprecating and a little wry, and tips his head back to study the blue sky above. “Connections,” he says, not looking at Iruka. Pauses, turning the senbon over in his fingers, and then adds, “I've been on the Guard Platoon since I was fourteen. Under Namikaze Minato.”

It means something, that’s clear in the way he phrases it. Iruka frowns at him, trying to work it out. Glances back at the Yondaime’s face on the mountain, then at Genma again, and asks, “So you were with Naruto because you had experience as a bodyguard?”

Genma hesitates, and when he meets Iruka’s eyes there’s something in his gaze, weighty and a little sad. “That too,” he allows. Pauses again, and then tips his head, smile going wry once more. “Ever seen a picture of Minato?”

That’s a stupid question, and Iruka bristles, opens his mouth to demand to know what this has to do with Naruto—

And stops dead, realizing the answer. His eyes widen, and he pulls back in shock, staring at Genma. “_Naruto_?” he says, halfway between bewildered and incredulous. “He’s—the Yondaime is—”

“Secret,” Genma says, but not as if he likes that fact. Glances away, and in Iruka’s grip his fingers tighten just a little. “I've been watching that kid since before he was born. Weird not to have to, anymore.”

Carefully, deliberately, Iruka laces their fingers together, squeezing back. “It’s Naruto,” he says, throat tight. “He’s always going to need looking after.”

Surprise flickers across Genma's expression, and then he laughs. It’s warm, curls around Iruka’s bones, and just for a moment he can't look away from Genma's face, the crinkle at the corner of his eyes, the scrape across one cheek, the fall of red-brown hair that frames his features. His hand is warm in Iruka’s, especially when he presses his thumb to the back of Iruka’s hand, right below his knuckles.

“His father did, too,” Genma says, and smiles. “Always getting into trouble. And Kushina was even worse about it. Naruto never had a chance.”

Genma knew Naruto's parents. Naruto's parents who were _the Yondaime Hokage and his wife_. Iruka takes a moment to try and factor that into his knowledge of Naruto, then laughs a little. “You must have cared for him a lot, over the years,” he says, meeting Genma's eyes. “Thank you, Genma. I—I'm glad he had someone.”

“He didn’t,” Genma says, sad. “Watching someone from the shadows isn't the same as being there. But then he had you, and that was better than anything.” Just for an instant, his hand comes up to cup Iruka’s cheek, a bare brush of skin, and then he rises, pulling away. “I watched you, too,” he says, and his smile is crooked and regretful. “ANBU, you know? But I'm glad one of us was what Naruto needed.”

The words feel like an impact. Like they shake something loose, and Iruka finds himself standing before he can consider moving, already reaching out. He catches Genma's wrist, pulling him up short, and when Genma turns to look at him in surprise Iruka falters.

“That sounds—lonely,” he finally manages. “Always watching. You—you don’t have to anymore.”

Something flickers across Genma's face, and he pauses. Stares at Iruka for a long, long moment, and then says, “You can punch me if I'm reading this wrong, okay?”

_What_, Iruka starts to say, but the word is caught by Genma's mouth, soft lips against his, the heat of a breath. Iruka’s own breath catches, and before he can consider the motion too deeply he’s reaching up, tangling his fingers in soft brown hair and pulling Genma in tighter. A hand settles on his hip as Genma's mouth slants across his, and Iruka answers by wrapping an arm around Genma's back, kissing him deeper until it drives a soft, husky sound from Genma's throat.

Pulling back seems like a trial, like something Iruka doesn’t want to do. He hadn’t even realized he wanted to kiss Genma before this, but—now he doesn’t ever want to stop. Still, getting a look at Genma's face like this, a little dazed and a little hungry and a little awed, makes something turn over in Iruka’s chest, deep down where there’s been an empty ache since Naruto left.

“Oh,” Genma says softly, and cups Iruka’s cheek, leaning in to feather another light, lingering kiss across his mouth. Pulls back before Iruka can deepen it, and smiles. “That’s no to a punch, then?”

Iruka laughs before he can help it. Curls his hand over Genma's, pulling it away from his cheek, and turns it over to lace their fingers instead. “Not as long as you let me buy you dinner,” he says, and can't help but lean in, kissing Genma carefully, slowly, softly.

The shiver that slides through Genma's body is entirely gratifying, and so is the faint rasp to his words when he breathes, “Anything you want,” right against Iruka’s mouth.

Iruka kisses him again, and doesn’t ever want to stop.


End file.
